Chapter 26
TWENTY-SIX
Flying to the kitchen, I find him at the hob, muttering angrily to himself as he hurriedly turns the rings off.
‘Jack?’ I walk across to place my hand on his arm, making him jump.
‘Shit, sorry.’ He looks at me in alarm. ‘I didn’t mean to yell,’ he says, clearly emotional. ‘It’s just, walking in to find all four rings on full blast, I… Sorry.’
‘It’s okay.’ Guessing his thoughts had been on the tragedy surrounding the loss of his family, I’m about to try to reassure him when Evie bursts into the kitchen.
‘What’s going on?’ she asks warily.
Jack turns to her. ‘I might ask you the same question,’ he snaps. ‘What in God’s name were you thinking, leaving the gas rings on? The place is like a furnace.’
Evie looks from him to the hob and then back. ‘Chill out, Dad.’ She laughs in confusion. ‘It was obviously an accident.’
‘Chill out?’ Jack shakes his head incredulously. ‘It was an accident waiting to happen. In case it escaped your notice, we’re living in a barn conversion, meaning a large proportion of it consists of wood. It could go up like a tinderbox.’
‘There’s no need to spell it out.’ Evie eyes him, unimpressed, then drags her gaze away and strides past him to the sink.
‘Nan must have got confused,’ she mutters, turning the tap on, grabbing a glass from the drainer and filling it.
‘She’s used to putting the gas rings on in her flat because the place is fucking freezing cold. Not that you would have cared.’
As she stalks past him in the opposite direction, Jack stares after her in bemused shock. ‘Jesus.’ He rakes a hand through his hair. ‘What the hell was that all about?’
‘She’s being defensive. Protective of her gran.
’ I attempt to play it down. ‘She obviously feels she has to be. Try not to worry about it. Things will settle down,’ I assure him, though I’m beginning to wonder what I might have taken on.
The fact is, he’s right. I’m sure the place could easily go up in flames if a fire caught.
‘The house meets all safety standards, Jack, and there are fire extinguishers in every room.’ I go across to him as I notice his deathly pale complexion. ‘Please try not to worry. Lina will be in the annexe soon. We’ll just have to make sure we keep an eye on things.’
He doesn’t look any happier. ‘That’s the thing, though. We won’t be here all the time to do that, will we?’
He’s right about that too. We can’t watch Lina twenty-four hours a day. And Evie can’t take any more time out of school either.
‘We need to get her an assessment. She’s round the bloody twist. There’s no way she should be here,’ Jack mutters unkindly.
Understanding his frustration and fear, I don’t comment. My heart sinks, though, as I notice Evie coming back in, casting her dad a furious glance as she does.
‘So where else would you suggest? The streets?’ she asks acerbically. ‘The landlord’s served her an eviction notice. I saw it when we picked up her stuff.’
Jack sighs in exasperation. ‘Look, I get that you’re upset, Evie,’ he says, tempering his tone. ‘But if she’s a danger to herself and everyone else, then—’
‘She not! She just forgot. Like I just forgot I offered to make her some hot chocolate. It doesn’t make her senile.’
Jack emits another expansive sigh. ‘Okay, let’s all just calm down and talk sensibly, shall we?’
‘You said she could stay here. You said so.’ Evie turns to glare at me. ‘Or are you full of bullshit too, just like he is?’
‘Evie, that’s uncalled for,’ I warn her, while Jack looks at her as if she’s just punched him.
‘Your dad was worried. Wasn’t he bound to be, finding the gas rings full on?
’ I add, sure she will be aware of the awful way her father’s family had died.
‘For her own sake, I do think Lina is going to have to assessed by a professional.’
‘She’s not going into some shitty care home,’ Evie retaliates angrily. ‘It would kill her.’
‘We never said that.’ I try to defuse the situation. ‘Of course she can stay here. We just need to know what we’re dealing with if we’re to be able to make sure she’s safe.’
‘She can’t bear being cooped up,’ Evie goes on, appearing not to have heard me. ‘She spends most of her time out of doors, mooching around the village or feeding the ducks in the park. They would take away her independence, her will to live. If she goes, I go.’
‘Evie, just calm down, okay?’ Jack goes to her, his face now drained of all colour. ‘Your gran’s not well. We have to do what’s best for her. You must see that.’
Glaring at him, she backs away. ‘I don’t want to bloody well calm down,’ she yells. ‘Nan’s not well physically, and you’re trying to make out that she’s bloody insane. Why are you doing that?’
‘I’m not doing anything,’ he tries. ‘You said yourself she was confused. I’m concerned, that’s all. Not just for Lina, but—’ He stops, glancing towards the door as Lina appears like a genie at the mention of her name.
‘I take it it’s me you’re referring to?’ she asks derisively.
‘You left the gas rings alight, Lina,’ I say, keeping my tone kind rather than accusatory. ‘We were concerned.’
Her eyes grow wide with surprise. ‘I did no such thing.’
‘Right.’ Jack sighs agitatedly. ‘So who did then?’
‘You lit them, obviously,’ she replies.
‘Oh, for fuck’s…’ Jack throws his hands up in despair and turns away.
‘I think you’ll find it’s a not very original twist on gaslighting, my dear.’ Lina looks at me. ‘Did you ever see the Hitchcock movie?’ she asks, sounding so compos mentis it startles me.